Looking for fall leaf shooting locations in the UP

Fall leaves are just around the corner and it looks like I will be spending some time in the UP shooting this year. I’m fairly familiar with the locations in the western UP but haven’t spent much time in the central and eastern UP. I’m looking for suggestions for great places to shoot. Are there any good books or articles on the subject?

Thanks in advance.

Phil Schwarz
E2311 530th Ave
Menomonie, WI 54751
e-mail: schwarzp@uwstout.edu
web: http://philipschwarz.zenfolio.com/

Phil, There is an area south of Grand Marais called the Kingston Plains. A lot of old charred pine stumps, and evergreen/hardwood mix. A really neat area. Not the easiest area to traverse without a pickup. Might Google Kingston Plains.

Phil: As you probably appreciate, the UP is huge -- almost a state in and of itself. That makes it kind of hard to "generalize" about shooting locations. That said, there is no lack of subjects.

I don't know what you would define as "central," nor how far East you have already been. For arguments sake, if "central" is from Marquette to the North to Escanaba to the South, there are lots of opportunities in that region. I have never been West of Escanaba on US 2, but if you came that way, I know there are some major rivers that empty into Lake Michigan in that area (some with waterfalls). North of Escanaba at Rapid River, you can either go North and find some nice falls with trees on the Whitefish River, or you can head around the bay and south on the Garden Peninsula (so-called because it is in in Garden Township). There are some old farms and some nice long views of the water as you head South. The "jewel" that I found is Fayette State Park, which is near the base of the peninsula, with a beautiful little harbor off of Lake Michigan. Most of the decidous trees around there appear to be birch (which in my experience, turn later that others).

If you were coming over from the North, on Hwy 41, you will come through Michigamme and Van Riper State Park. I found some pretty nice foliage through there on my last trip (several years ago) over to the Keewenaw. To the North West of Marquette there are some spectacular bluffs with views of Lake Superior. There is often foliage there. Also, many waterfalls. I am contemplating an early October trip to Marquette to try to find and photograph some falls I haven't seen there -- hopefully in fall foliage. There is a Major National Forest (Hiawatha NF)between Marquette and Escanaba and it might be worthwhile to write and obtain the FS maps. I took a couple FS roads from North to South several falls ago. They are dirt/sand, but well maintained and very passenger car passable (I was driving a Toyota Camry sedan at the time -- no problems). Found some really nice little forest lakes and lots of rivers and streams. Color was good in some places.

Further East (or NE from Escanaba -- there's a trucking/logging route -- paved-- from Rapid River to Munising that is a beautiful drive), is Munising. It is at the Northern tip of the Hiawatha NF and is a pretty good spot for fall photography. The forest roads to the South will likely yield some good ops. Just East of Munising is the beginning of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. There are some pretty spectacular sandstone formations, including the iconic "Miners Castle." Because of the lakeshore influence, the color may be later there -- and the higher percentage of deciduous hardwoods are more likely to be found south in the NF. But some beautiful photo ops there, too.

How much time do you have and how adventurous are you? If there is color, the ultimate Eastern UP subject might well be the upper Tahqamenon Falls. But in the Northern part of the UP, it is almost as far as you can go.

My wife's family is from the Washington, D.C. area. It is nearly as far, and every bit as long a drive from my home to the base of the Keewena as it is to DC. So, coming from WI and driving all the way to Tahquamenon, is a drive! But the view is worth it (if you like that sort of thing)

Also, don't forget that there are several picturesque lighthouses along lake superior.

My website, Light Centric Photography , has some shots of a few of these places. I also have a much more detailed, PDF "Guide" which may be freely downloaded from my site which has directions to some of these locations.

Feel free to PM me at adr1957@gmail.com with any questions

Oh, I forgot to mention the Sceney National Wildlife Refuge, with is pretty much dead center in the middle of the "central to eastern" part.

One last comment and then I'll shut up . Here on the Midwest NP Section at the bottom of our banner, if you click on "Locations" there are a number of illustrations and locations in the UP, with directions.

Andy
Thanks for all of the great information. Hope to post some great photos when I get back.

Phil: I should have looked at your website first. You have clearly been to a lot of the locations already. You seem to have captured the Munising area waterfalls pretty well. There is a pretty little fall right in Munising called Munising Falls that you might check out. Since you have already been all the way to Grand Marais, what's a little further . There are two lighthouses from GM over to Tahquamenon Falls (Crisp Point, which is pretty, and Whitefish Point, which is interesting, but I am not sure I would call "pretty").

Again, if you haven't already done so, drive the forest roads in the HNF. Good luck

Along with Crisp and Whitefish Points..don't forget the Point Iroquois lighthouse within the Hiawatha Nat'l Forest.

Andy..you're right...Whitefish certainly is not the "prettiest" lighthouse in the state! The one thing about Crisp Point is the difficulty in getting there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's about 20 miles of two-track/gravel road driving.

I agree with almost all of what has already been said, but would like to add a few notes. There is more to Whitefish point than the lighthouse. The beach at the point is a graveyard of large driftwood logs, and there is also a bird observatory there, as the point is a migrant trap. You may catch some tired shorebirds who have crossed the lake heading south as well as other migrating birds.

Some 20 miles south of Whitefish point, there are many possibilities where the Tahquamenon River empties into Whitefish Bay. If you stay along Lake Superior heading east from Whitefish Bay, toward Brimley, the road is isolated and gorgeous, with a number of roadside pull-offs with easy access to the Superior shore. You can take this all the way to Sault Ste. Marie, where you can take photos of large freightors and scenics along the St. Mary's River below the Soo Locks.

Another good, easy place for sunset scenics is along US 2 west from St. Ignace. The road hugs the north shore of Lake Michigan and has a number of places (like the Brevort River area) that offer nice evening shooting opportunities.

Good Luck and I'm looking forward to you posting some results from the trip.

Gosh-nice to see Kingston Plains was mentioned immediately-that was my first idea. Fantastic, beautiful place. There's one photo I know of that Eliot Porter did on the Adams Trail... The NPS was doing some road paving there (curse them!!) this summer, but I believe it's just finishing up now. Take H-58 east from Munising to where it meets the Adams Trail - good access area, and you can camp wild on the State Forest land there if you like.

I also recommended Lakeshore Drive on the s side of Whitefish Bay - lots of good shore access, maple/beech/pine forests, and good forest/swamp mosaics inland... and Ranger Road from M-28 to Lakeshore Drive (then got east when you hit Lakeshore straight to Wilcox Fisheries for dinner!) and of course there's the south salt road that goes from Lakeshore to M-28 - nice beech-maple and jack pine forest mosaics.

And H-40 between Rudyard and Engadine. There are some nice lakes in the Hiawatha easy walk from the road that have really nice patterns of tree species around the shore, as well as grasses and sedges and other herbaceous plants (the $10 map that the USFS publishes at the scale of 1/2" to the mile is a good guide, and can be got at the Forest Service offices in St. Ignace, Rapid River, the NPS-USFS info center in Munising, etc.

North of Trout Lake on M-123 about 5 miles there's a really nice big swamp/wetland complex that has lots of possibilities, too!

Also the "maple syrup country" (my own title) in eastern Chippewa County - e.g., north of Rudyard to US-2.

The "Iron country" in the Ishpeming-Republic-Michigamme area (and down M-95) has one of my favorite fall palettes - balsam, pine, maple, sand, & traprock - but that's the western UP.

Shoot, anywhere in the UP is great, you almost can't lose. I've done a few bicycle tours in recent years in the UP in autumn, and so have had the good fortune to look over the land pretty well for ideas! I'm about to move from Alaska back to Michigan (UP of course), photography being a large part of the decision - it's that good!

Oh, I almost forgot - H-40 between Grand Marais and Deer Park - my favorite road in the UP! Camp out anywhere and walk to the shore - then see the beautiful bits of fall color that wash up on the sand - exquisite!

... And there's the area back in the woods behind Soldier Lake NF campground... Just be sure to take a bunch of the county highways and don't just stay on US-2 and M-28, though they're OK too.

I really can't think of a single road in the EUP that wouldn't have enough in a single mile to fill a week's shoot or more of fall color!

Phil, the area around Munising is so replete with fall shooting options that you could spend the entire peak season shooting there and never come close to running out of things to point your camera at. The Hiawatha National Forest is, in my opinion, only a baby step behind the best shooting spots in New England for fall color. Loaded with countless undeveloped lakes and rich mixed/maple forest, it just explodes with color in even a bad year. Add to that numerous waterfalls and the western access point to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and you have a photographer's dream autumn shooting location. You needn't ever venture 30 miles from Munising, but of course you can if you want.

I just finished reading through this complete thread and saw a few things that need updating.
Hiawatha National Forest is divided into two seperate and distinct units....east and west. Between them lies 80 miles or more of state forests, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Palms Book State Park, Fayette State Park, Muskalonge Lake State Park, litterally thousands of acres of CFR. Here in Munising, we are at the west entrance to PRNL and the west unit of Hiawatha National Forest and miles of access to Lake Superior. I couldn't agree more with Kerry's description of this area, but of course I am a little biased. Kerry and I have photographed fall color here several times over the years.
In one above post, there was mentioned road construction in Alger County accessing PRNL.
The paving is complete on H-58 to the Kingston Plains and Kingston Lake, but closed beyond Kingston Lake to the 12 Mile Beach Campground Area. Adams Trail from Kingston Plains east to M-77 is open.
From the Grand Marais end of H-58, (east entrance to PRNL) the road is open to 12 Mile Beach Campground, Hurricane River Campground, AuSable Lighthouse, log slide, AuSable Dunes and falls. Some of this road is paved.
The road into Crisp Point has been improved over the past few years.,,,,not paved but improved. I am not certain, but I believe the road number is Luce County road 412.
Hope this helps.

Toni: Yes, the road in to Crisp Point is gravel and long -- but worth the drive, from what I hear. My one opportunity to go there in the past several years, I had to miss-- but I know several photographers who have been there and they all say thumbs up.

How could I forget Point Iroquois, which I photographed one freezing early spring morning! It is photogenic and there are boardwalks and beach areas where it can be photographed, as well as from the front, with the lake in the background. Its right on the main road -- pull into the parking lot and park. No hike.

And that drive along Lake Superior includes the "Curley Lewis Highway" (which eventually will turn into and go by Pt. Iroquois Light) is very scenic with lots of great foliage.

Andy...Crisp Point is on my list of places I would love to see in the U.P.!